Making America Dance Again with Choppa (Part 1 and 2)
David Adams
Do do do you? Get.
Choppa
Eating mushrooms. Yeah.
Choppa
Every school, every school I would eat. No.
David Adams
Well no in the game do.
Choppa
Do do do do in the game. You got some versus.
Choppa
That I it is about to be the enemy.
David Adams
All right, guys, thanks for joining the Elation Podcast today. We are with Chop Chop Chop Style. What's up man? How you doing?
Choppa
I can't complain. It's good to—
Choppa
Be here with—
David Adams
You. It's good to see you, man.
Choppa
Good to see you.
Choppa
Too, man. Yeah. Fresh off a show. Fresh off a show tour.
David Adams
And, like, always doing good things. Oh, yeah. You know, it's funny being around you. You say stuff that I find myself saying. Stuff that you sing in your songs by accident. Not even like trying, you know? Absolutely, man.
Choppa
You know, I just I be myself, you know, a lot of people, they just go out there and they, you know, they haven't asked me. I don't be asked, and I be.
David Adams
Oh, yeah. No, 100%. You could tell that you were meant for that stage. You know.
Choppa
If you asked 20 people ten questions about Chop, you're going to get 30 different—
Choppa
Answers. Yeah.
Choppa
You know, your nighttime job or your daytime job. You stage job and you got determined.
David Adams
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Choppa
Well, to be here.
David Adams
Absolutely, man. Well, you know, there's certain people made for the stage and certain people not. I'm not made for the stage. So we know that. We found that out from that. You know, I'm good here, but you get a couple drinks in me, and you put me on stage in front of a couple hundred people, and I'll say the wrong thing.
Speaker 2
That was the right thing.
David Adams
It was?
Choppa
And you—
David Adams
Bang! You saved me. You saved me. You saved me. You know, everybody, even my mom noticed it, like, you know, Choppa saved me.
Choppa
You know, we would come and do one thing—make America dance again.
David Adams
There you go. Make America dance again. I love that. I love that slogan, by the way. I love that slogan. And I think it's actually something—we're going to get into your origin story in just a minute—but I think it's something that we really need as a nation. To pick up that good feeling, that enjoying being around each other type of feeling.
David Adams
Because I feel like we lost that.
Choppa
And music makes people come together. I don't care whether you're in church, the club, riding your vehicle—you play the right song, everybody around you has a good time. You play the wrong song, everybody's going to be crying, right?
Speaker 2
Yeah. Right now, I hope says.
Choppa
We got to make them dance. That's my whole goal right now.
Speaker 2
100%.
David Adams
Well, and I think—I feel like we were more fun when we were dancing in the club, having fun with each other, you know? There was a time when we all truly did that. Now, I feel like it's gotten so angry and so dirty and so dangerous.
Choppa
Put it like this—a perfect example. I was in Atlanta for the Saints game last season, and I told my girl, I said, "Let's just go explore." I wanted to go see what Atlanta club life, the nightlife, was about. So I paid like $100 to get in this club.
Speaker 2
It was cool.
Choppa
And the drinks were like 55 bucks. Just something out of that. For seven bucks, I still, you know, I see a time to have a good time. I don't even want to chat, but I just want to come to our hand like, "Hey, I don't like this right now." You can't really see me, right? I'll ask him and it ain't him.
Choppa
So, anyway—
David Adams
You pulled the Will—
Smith! You pulled the Will Smith.
Choppa
Oh, that Fresh Prince walk that you did. And everybody that was in the club—they was playing, they were just standing up against the walls, and I'm like, "Damn, nobody dancing?" You know, nobody having a good time. Everyone's just on some, you know, turnt shit, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2
Right?
Choppa
And I'm like, that's cool, but ain't no woman on the dance floor having a good time, you know what I'm saying? So I said, "Man, you know what? When I leave Atlanta tonight, I'm about to do something different." Then I made sure when I made it back to New Orleans, I got back in the studio and I said, "I'm about to make America dance again."
David Adams
There you go.
Choppa
I got to. I want to be the one. I mean, I'm not saying no disrespect to no other artist that has, you know, club songs or whatever, but everything is turning into—well, I can't say that because I was the guy saying, "If you want, you ate hollow."
David Adams
Yeah, yeah. But you know what? The drugs were more uppers. They were uppers back then. Now everything is leaning, and codeine, and pills, and—
Choppa
Yeah, everything is on something different now.
David Adams
Yeah, 100%. But you also notice that the dance floor has gotten smaller.
Choppa
Because they just want—
Speaker 2
The bar. Right.
David Adams
Well, so the club owners are building more booths and bottle service areas.
Choppa
And it should be a section. You know, this right here—"Oh, I sold another section."
Speaker 2
125.
David Adams
Right, right. You know, it's crazy—I was in Vegas years ago for one of the, I think, many Pacquiao fights. I forget exactly which one it was. But I was with a group of people—I was with Akon's older brother, Omar. I don’t know if you know Omar.
Choppa
Yeah.
David Adams
So Omar walked in with a group, and that group had paid for one of the DJ tables that night, which was like 50 grand. And I got there at like 10:00, and by midnight, they were kicking us out because they had sold that table again to somebody else for 80 grand.
Choppa
I mean—
David Adams
I was like, so you paid 50 grand for two—
Speaker 2
Hours?
David Adams
I'm not even drunk because of the way bottle service works. And we go out—
Choppa
50 grand, and—
Speaker 2
That's 50 grand a job.
Choppa
Right? Oh, a game that would have set it up on top of it was Saint Charles style. Oh, did you order chocolate?
Speaker 2
Oh, man. Oh. Believe me. Oh, man.
David Adams
I would have known how to spend that 50 grand, but that’s fine. No, it's just—I feel like even as a whole, the club scene, we just need to get back to dancing and having fun, and it'll make everybody, like you said—music makes everybody come together. But it’s about the type of music you listen to, you know? Because it could definitely—
David Adams
It could definitely separate, too. You know, it can put you in your corner and separate you.
Choppa
See, when I be in that club and I hear the wrong music—oh my goodness. Get away from me. Get away from me. I'm fussing with the people—
Speaker 2
That's with me doing what's wrong. Right?
Choppa
I told y’all I’m a monster that night.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
And now it makes me feel like a demon is in me.
Speaker 2
Well, yeah. Yeah.
David Adams
It's what you want. It's what you feed the animal, too. You're a beast, so you feed yourself. I mean, if I watch The Sopranos all day long, I'm going to start talking like Tony.
Speaker 2
Yeah. You know.
David Adams
I'm going to start—I'm going to stop taking shit from anybody, you know? So it's just part of it. But you got to feed the beast, and I feel like feeding it with good, good energy will help.
Choppa
Overall, records in the club?
David Adams
No, not at all, man. Not at all. Well, so let's get into your origin a little bit. So let's tell the people—where you from? Where'd you go to school? Let's do that type of talk.
Choppa
All right. Well, I just want to invite everybody and welcome them into the mind, man. Y'all know what it's like to go down there.
Speaker 2
So right—
Choppa
I'm from the West Bank side of New Orleans. You know, a lot of people always say—
Speaker 2
"Oh, the West Bank ain't New Orleans." And then—shut up.
Choppa
You don't go there. They don’t know the history. And if you feel that way, you go. I'm always—
Speaker 2
Very upset.
Choppa
Yeah, but it's a part of the city, you know what I’m saying?
David Adams
My dad was born in Crown Point, raised in Lafitte. So we went back—
Choppa
You can’t go back there in Lafitte talking trash.
David Adams
Absolutely not.
Speaker 2
Gonna be—how did you say it?
Choppa
The reason why I represent the West Bank—the entire West Bank—is because we moved around a lot. So, like, that’s why if you ask many people a couple of things about Choppa, you're going to get 30 different answers. You may have some people say, "Man, Choppa from Marrero, Choppa from Harvey." Originally, my mom and dad, they’re from Houma.
Choppa
So I was raised in Houma. We moved to Marrero when I was about nine, ten years old. Maybe a little younger than that. You know, I don’t remember being in Houma much.
Speaker 2
Right? Yeah. Yeah.
Choppa
We moved to Marrero. I started holding down the railroad. You know, I still hold Harvey down. Then we moved to Gretna. Then we moved to Algiers. You know, we moved a lot of places. I got family all over, you know what I’m saying? Kennedy Heights, Power Line, I got family in Avondale.
Choppa
So it’s like—Westwego, right? All of that is a part of my origin. So it’s like I represent the whole West Bank. So when you speak of the West Bank, just know my flavor is on it in some way. Whether you love me or hate me, I love you.
David Adams
Well, you put a little bit of that energy on the street from an N.O. track because you shout out everybody.
Choppa
Yeah, because a lot of people were acting like they forgot about the West Bank. So I had to let them know—come on, man, we got big artists that came from over there, like Tim Smooth, Bust Down, Mike Thing, you know what I'm saying? Straight Dog House, Boss Man. The record labels I was looking up to when I was young—Mobile Records, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2
But—
Choppa
There were a lot of record labels there. Almost everybody, man. And because of that, they forgot me.
Speaker 2
You know—
David Adams
You gonna give your Grammy speech? We can’t name everybody!
David Adams
That’s funny. Well, so where did you go to school?
David Adams
That sounds like my story because I got kicked out of a bunch of schools. When people ask me what school I went to, I just pick one.
Choppa
I stayed and I never made it. Yeah, Rosie was my best friend.
Speaker 2
Okay.
Choppa
For people that don’t know, Rosie means "Remainder of the School Year."
Speaker 2
I got put up—
Choppa
Listen, I played football for every school I went to. I was good, you know, and I played for the parks coming up. They knew I had talent in football, so it was either football or rapping. During football season—oh, I stayed in school.
Speaker 2
Right?
Choppa
I was focused. I passed every test. You see me after football season? Man, I did what I wanted. They froze my grades. You could call them out—
Speaker 2
Darwin—
Choppa
And you know, all we needed was a D, and they would freeze my grades if I was passing.
Speaker 2
Pass and—
Choppa
Just keep him home the rest of the school year. And everybody that knows me—they know that ain't no lie.
Speaker 2
You know—
Choppa
What I'm saying? Like, I was at home playing and doing my thing.
Speaker 2
Do do do you? Get. But—eating mushrooms. Yeah.
Choppa
Every school, every school I would eat. No.
David Adams
Well, no—in the game, though.
Speaker 2
Do do do do in the game. You got some verses.
Choppa
That—I—it is about to be the enemy.
David Adams
Man, why is the mic moving?
Choppa
When I tell you I went to every school on the West Bank—even if I was cutting class—I just went to every one. You know John Ehret High School, right? I used to cut class and go to West Jeff because I had a girl over there, you know what I’m saying? And I used to get on campus like I was a student there.
Choppa
And I’d sit in teachers’ classes every day. I think Jubilee used to be letting me in classes, and he gave—
Speaker 2
Me the—
Choppa
Whole pass. Yeah, you know, Jubilee was a teacher.
Speaker 2
Man, if you could do that stuff back in the day—man.
Choppa
It was—it was great. Nowadays, you go—
Speaker 2
You know, you go to jail for—
Choppa
That. Truancy matters now. See, every day, you know—I went to Marrero Middle, and I went to Truman. Man, it’s like every middle school in Marrero knew me, and all my teachers that see me now, they’re like, "Darwyn, I'm so proud of you. You changed your ways, and you’re living your life the way that you always said you would."
Choppa
You can see me—I always had a problem with authority. I felt like, "Don’t tell me what to do, let me tell you what I want to do." And still to this day, I’m not saying all y’all should do—
Speaker 2
That right now, right?
Choppa
I know my code. I know exactly what I want to do. When people asked me when I was young, "What you want to be?" I said, "I’m going to be in entertainment." They looked at me and laughed. You know what I’m saying? Look at me today—I’m entertaining. Right? I’m entertaining with you right now. We about to go viral!
David Adams
Well, you know what’s funny? Football and music have a little bit of that entertainer side in each other. So when did you truly decide to move into rapping from sports? Because, you know, it’s funny—I jumped around a little bit. I started at Curtis because I was playing football in grade school, and I was like, "I want to play football."
David Adams
And then I got to Curtis and realized that I don't want to play football like this—because Curtis is different. Different animal. JT puts you through that summer, and that summer is not summer. It is NFL camp-style crazy.
Choppa
And it changed my life. We were winning all our games, undefeated, and then we scrimmaged against these country boys. Man, my dad—
Speaker 2
Big neck—
Choppa
Man, I said, "It's just a scrimmage game," and coach said, "If you want in, you go in." So I went in as fullback. I gained about 13 yards and one inch—went through—
Speaker 2
Woke up, hit a wall!
Choppa
Like King Williams just—
Speaker 2
Hahahaha!
Choppa
Oh, you know what? Johnny boy, let me tell you. I looked up, saw so many stars. Got up, thought, "I don’t want my helmet." Right then and there, I was like, "Y'all gonna hurt me!" That was a scrimmage game! Oh, man.
Speaker 2
Oh, man!
Choppa
Just ask me where I was that Monday morning. I was in the studio.
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
I was waiting for records. I said, "I gotta go rap, man."
Speaker 2
Man, I won’t play, you know?
David Adams
No, football is serious. Yeah. We had to run through freshman drills, you know? I had to run through the offensive line throwing pillowcases with cleats and stuff in it, like it was a rush drill. And I did it. But the thing that got me was the running. I enjoyed playing football, but I guess I didn't really enjoy the workout part.
Speaker 2
Tunes.
Choppa
You took, you know, to keep you balanced—
Speaker 2
100%.
David Adams
Well, and that's the thing—you gotta be 100% in those things to truly do it. So, you know, I wasn’t into that. Once I got pushed too hard, I was out. But it’s still entertainment. So, rapping—when was that shift? Was that the moment you said, "All right, I ain't doing football anymore, I’m moving to rap?"
David Adams
And what was the first song that you created after that?
Choppa
Well, during that time of me playing football—from middle school into high school—it wasn’t even about songs. It was something called 9 o’clock props. I don’t know if a lot of people remember that, but it was something we used to do on the radio.
Speaker 2
Hey, what’s your name? You on the radio with your boy Wild Wayne!
Choppa
I would get on there every night. Me and a couple of my partners—we called ourselves Dog Boys. At that time, I was living in Woodmere.
Speaker 2
Okay.
Choppa
We called ourselves the Stock Boys, and we would go against anybody. We didn’t care who it was—we would smash them every night on 9 o’clock props.
Speaker 2
Just doing freestyles?
Choppa
Yeah. So we would tag team—one of us would go first, then my partner would go second.
David Adams
But that had to start somewhere before y'all got to the radio. Did you guys start doing it in the streets, at school? How did it build up before you got to that point?
Choppa
Actually, to be honest with you, I knew this was what I was going to do from when I was a kid. I did a talent show in fourth grade.
Speaker 2
Okay.
Choppa
Grade school. I remember, you know, lifting your pants leg up, rocking to the music.
Speaker 2
Right, right, right.
Choppa
I did that one at the talent show. Actually, one of the principals at my grade school was retiring, and I made a song for him. He let me rap it.
Speaker 2
So you were in it already!
Choppa
Yeah, I always knew this was what I was gonna do. So when people ask me what my first song was, I can’t even remember because I had so many of them. You know, I went from rapping at the park to rapping in the studio.
Speaker 2
Right, right.
David Adams
So it started with freestyling. That built your confidence. Tell me about your journey to No Limit. What led you to P?
Choppa
Man, when I started hitting the stages, I was too young to even be in the clubs. Wild Wayne—yeah, we bringing his name up again—he probably watching this like, "They saying my name!"
Choppa
He used to come pick me up from my mom’s house like, "Youngin’, I got this show I’m hosting at The Palace. I want you to come rap." I was fresh out of 9 o’clock props, so I was nervous. Man, I didn’t know what to do. He said, "Drink this beer, you’ll be all right."
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
Man, I performed with my back turned to the crowd!
Speaker 2
Oh, no!
Choppa
Wayne came up to me like, "Hey! You gotta turn around." So I turned around and rocked the crowd. From that point on, it was just the beginning of Choppa Style.
Choppa
I was in a group before that called the Soulja Boys. We put out an album in high school—just picture me playing football, having albums coming out, records dropping, right? In the morning, me and my partner D.K. would be beating down the poles before class and between classes, making the girls dance.
Speaker 2
You had it going!
Choppa
Yeah! So me and Big Ramp were real tight, and he kept telling Take Fo’ Records, "Hey, this dude Choppa is fire. Holla at him." But they weren’t listening at first. They didn’t see the potential.
David Adams
Well, sometimes it takes time for that message to get across.
Choppa
Right! But Big Ramp kept bringing me to clubs, putting me on stages. That’s when I met Fifth Ward Weebie, Josephine Johnny, and Hot Boy Ronald. I was rapping bars, but then I saw Johnny come on stage, doing his thing, and the crowd went wild. I realized, "Oh, I gotta switch it up."
Speaker 2
Right!
Choppa
So I started coming with that bounce energy. And when I started seeing the women dance, I knew that was the move. That’s when Take Fo’ got interested, and they put out a project on me that actually did numbers.
Speaker 2
Yeah!
Choppa
It was regional at first, but it was making noise. Then No Limit came into the picture. I heard two stories about how I got signed—one from Magic and one from Wild Wayne.
Speaker 2
Okay.
Choppa
Master P was signing with Universal, and they asked him, "Who is this kid making all that noise?" And that’s when I got the call. Wild Wayne hit me up, like, "Man, P wants to talk to you."
Speaker 2
What?!
Choppa
Man, I was floating! Next thing I knew, I was in California, shooting videos with Lamborghinis with my name on them. P took me from the local scene to a national stage, and I’ll always respect him for that.
David Adams
I used to watch you on The Box every now and then.
Speaker 2
Remember The Box? The Box! Yeah.
Choppa
Man, to me, The Box was everything. Right? It was like a fat, fat app before apps. You were able to touch the world just by putting in numbers to request something.
Speaker 2
Yeah, right. Yeah.
David Adams
I think it was channel 70 or something on cable. But I remember I had to pass like four or five snow-covered porn channels to get there.
Speaker 2
Yeah!
David Adams
You know, whatever. Now and then I’d stop for a minute, see if it became clear.
Speaker 2
Before it fuzzed out again! Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Choppa
Man, we didn’t have pay-per-view. So, like, when the porn channels came through, it’d be so wiggly, squiggly, and blurry—but you’d still see something!
David Adams
Oh yeah! No, it was all snow, and then all of a sudden—bam! You'd catch a clear second. So, you’d watch it for like 30–45 seconds, see if you caught something, and then keep moving.
David Adams
But no, The Box was fun, man. And watching you guys make a movement was crazy. It was cool to watch y’all grow, and now, to be around you and see what it’s turned into—it’s just a crazy legacy.
Choppa
To see that was planned, and just for me to be a part of that legacy—man, I’m so grateful.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
You know, like we talked about a second ago—there's a lot of people that ain’t grateful. I don’t understand that. When you get put in a position—no matter what position—you have to see it as a blessing. You gotta keep it going, right?
Choppa
I just kept going by being myself. Being me. I don’t care who likes me. If you dislike me or hate me—I still love you.
Speaker 2
100%.
Choppa
I could walk into a room with no type of interaction—
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
And knowing that I know what you said about me—
Speaker 2
Right. But I’m gonna keep on moving.
Choppa
And guess what? My energy is so great, and I believe that's why I'm still where I’m at today. You could drop me off anywhere—
Speaker 2
Yeah.
David Adams
That’s part of Southern hospitality. The way we were raised, right? Like, you could drop me anywhere, and I’ll have fun with somebody.
Choppa
Man, ride to the airport and everything.
Speaker 2
Yeah!
David Adams
So, talking about legacy—how do you feel about your song being sampled every few years? You get a new artist that wants to sample something you did. How does that feel?
Speaker 2
I love it.
David Adams
Because one thing I definitely found online was a lot of school bands doing Choppa Style—a lot. Like Saint Aug. That’s gotta be fun to see, right?
Speaker 2
Fun!
Choppa
The best part is seeing the middle school bands and high school bands playing it—kids who weren’t even born when Choppa Style came out!
Speaker 2
Yeah!
Choppa
That makes me feel great—knowing I’m still going to be relevant in this new era.
David Adams
Your legacy is continuing.
Choppa
You got babies three years old doing a whole new dance to it, and I’m like, "That ain't how it goes!"
Speaker 2
But if they do it like that, it might blow up on TikTok!
Choppa
You know, that’s a blessing, bro. Even with the samples, I love it.
Choppa
Yo Gotti sampled Choppa Style. You got people out here talking about dope all day, but then they sample my song. That’s love.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
Like, come on now! They had to hear from somebody else to come tell me? Y’all been around me for years, and now you hyped because Gotti sampled it?
Speaker 2
Yeah, but—
David Adams
It’s crazy how it works. It’s harder to get recognition from people next to you than from someone far away. Until an outsider acknowledges you, people around you don’t see you as special.
Choppa
Facts! I mean, I receive that. That’s real.
Speaker 2
100%.
Choppa
I love seeing people continue to sample my music. But I gotta say this—if y’all want to sample Choppa Style, contact me.
Speaker 2
Please contact him!
Choppa
Please! I’m on Instagram, I got an OnlyFans—
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
We could do something official, man. Because sometimes when songs get sampled, we don’t see everything on the back end.
Speaker 2
Right.
David Adams
Yeah, you good?
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
David Adams
Guys, thanks for joining us for the podcast—Episode One with Choppa Style! Please join us soon for Episode Two.
David Adams
It’s your legacy—why aren’t they calling you to see how it should be done?
Choppa
Man, you gotta go through the labels. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
Speaker 2
Right?
Choppa
I respect that, too. But when I was young, I didn’t realize how big things could get. We gotta abide by contracts, but after a certain time, those contracts should expire!
Speaker 2
Yeah.
David Adams
So what’s the proper channel for Choppa Style right now?
Choppa
Contact me.
David Adams
Okay, heard that!
Choppa
You can find me anywhere.
Speaker 2
Yeah, catch him in the Superdome!
Choppa
Yeah, they got a picture of me in the Superdome now! You saw that?
Speaker 2
Yeah!
Choppa
Shoutout to Rouses for that one. Y'all go take a picture by that portrait of me in the Dome!
Speaker 2
That’s love.
David Adams
Did you expect the national love for Choppa Style? When it dropped and the feedback came in, did you expect that crazy level of respect?
Choppa
Forgive me for not being modest, but I knew it. I told a thousand people to tell a thousand people, and they didn’t believe me. That’s why I tell people—follow your heart, follow your dreams. I knew since fourth grade that this was going to be me. That’s why I put my name in the song a thousand times!
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
Man, y’all gonna remember me!
David Adams
Yeah, you branded the hell out of that.
Speaker 2
Choppa Style!
Choppa
Man, you got Choppa Style dog collars, barbershops—
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
David Adams
Listen, I still think Choppa Chow works.
David Adams
Speaking of that, you got the whole dog food thing going. You a big animal lover, huh?
Choppa
Man, I love animals! Just the other day, I saw a baby deer crossing the road, and I stopped traffic to help it.
Speaker 2
They were honking at you, huh?
Choppa
Yeah! But I just love animals, man. They’re part of nature, and I appreciate everything around us.
David Adams
Dogs are better than humans sometimes.
Choppa
Facts!
David Adams
So, you took a long gap—like seven, eight years—before putting out new music. What was going on during that time?
Speaker 2
What we did with music—well, what other things? Like with life.
Choppa
You gotta understand—coming from BET, MTV, VH1, and then Katrina hits.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
Man, we lost everything. And I had to go barbecue in somebody else’s backyard. The love was still there, but it was different. Before Katrina, I was performing in all these spots, and they loved me. But after, a lot of people came into these spots from out of town and gave New Orleans a bad rep. So then it became, "Choppa’s coming? Oh, he’s bringing New Orleans with him. It’s about to be trouble."
Speaker 2
Yeah, they were calling us refugees.
David Adams
No, we were Haitians for a while. Haitian refugees.
Choppa
Man, I hated it. But it wasn’t even like that. I had to regroup myself. A lot of people don’t understand—whether you’re an entertainer, a football player, whatever—you have to take a break. That’s real.
Choppa
Look at people like Anna Nicole Smith, you know? She came from Texas, blew up, and then ended up in situations that mentally disturbed her.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
I don’t know the full story, but I saw the documentary. Sometimes, we have to put a pause on things and take a break to reconnect with ourselves. Because if everyone around you is just saying "yes, yes, yes," that’s not real.
Speaker 2
100%.
Choppa
I don’t want yes-men around me.
David Adams
It’s like horses wearing blinders in a race.
Speaker 2
Come on, man.
David Adams
You gotta block out the noise sometimes. Focus can keep you sane, but that same focus can drive you crazy. I appreciate that, 100%. There were times I wish I had taken a break. Moving back to New Orleans was part of that for me. I was tired of LA. I needed to come home, build a family, reconnect. It was part of my mental reset.
Choppa
And during that process, I created a family for myself, too. I got two sons I love dearly. Being on the road all the time—it started looking like "Daddy don’t care." But now, Daddy’s home.
Choppa
So many nights, so many moments with my mom that I missed. And let me tell you—man, a hug from your mama hits different. I get hugs from fans all day, and I love it, but when my mama hugs me, it’s something else.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
If my mama called me right now and said she stubbed her toe on the bed, I’d be like, "I gotta go, y’all." That’s how deep it is.
Choppa
You gotta have real people around you. Not yes-men. Too many people have yes-men in their lives because they grew up that way.
Speaker 2
Right.
Choppa
They learned early—"If I tell Mama what she wants to hear, I get what I want." And then they grow up doing the same thing.
Speaker 2
100%.
Choppa
I don’t want that. I want people to tell me if I’m trippin’. I want real.
Speaker 2
Absolutely.
Choppa
That keeps me humble, keeps me grounded.
David Adams
Checks and balances. And when you don’t have that, you end up in bad situations. I hate to bring it up, but look at Mystikal. He keeps the wrong people around him.
Choppa
That’s my brother, man. I love him.
David Adams
I do, too.
Choppa
Funny story—Mystikal was one of my favorite rappers growing up. When I first got with No Limit, we had a show together. I had $500 to my name, and I spent it on the best weed I could find.
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
Man, I was broke. I couldn’t wait to smoke with Mystikal. But then, when I got to him, he was like, "Bro, I don’t smoke no more."
Speaker 2
Oh no!
Choppa
Man, I was looking at myself in the mirror back at the hotel like, "What did I just do?"
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
After that, I stopped buying weed for rappers.
David Adams
Yeah, let them buy their own weed!
Speaker 2
Facts!
David Adams
Mystikal is a great dude. I just feel like he keeps getting into the wrong situations. If he got with the right people, his career would be insane.
Choppa
He still has a huge career ahead of him. The stuff he was doing with Bruno Mars—that’s the lane he should be in.
Speaker 2
100%.
David Adams
And I’ll say this—P had two of the greatest free-agent signings in rap history. Mystikal and Snoop. Everybody wanted Mystikal, and P got him. And Snoop could’ve gone anywhere—but he chose No Limit.
Choppa
Great story about No Limit—man, when I performed at Essence Fest, that was crazy. That was a highlight for me.
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah.
Choppa
Everybody had their No Limit gear on—I showed up in a suit because I felt like, "Man, the aunties gonna see me today!"
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
And then Snoop saw me and was like, "Oh, that’s how you feel?"
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
Man, that was love. Snoop is one of the realest.
David Adams
Yeah, Snoop is genuine. Silk had me around him a few times on tour, and he treated me like he’d known me for years—even though we had just met.
Choppa
Since we talking about No Limit, let’s keep going.
Speaker 2
Yeah, let’s do it.
Choppa
The experience was great. You had different egos, different characters, but you also had genuine people. Man, let me tell you about Mr. Magic...
David Adams
Oh, Magic.
Choppa
Man, Magic—this was when I was smoking heavy. We went to California—
David Adams
By the way, that Roy Jones Jr. album with Magic and y’all—that was one of my favorite albums. I bumped it nonstop.
Speaker 2
Yeah, that album was fire.
Choppa
Man, I had my bets on myself with that one.
David Adams
I had three 12s in the back of my car, and that CD ran constantly.
Choppa
Man, those songs were even on video games.
Speaker 2
Yeah!
Choppa
Shoutout to Roy Jones. We gonna get to him in a second. But man, Roy—y’all know him as Roy, but I know him as Joy. Man, that dude got me out of a contract!
Speaker 2
For real?
Choppa
Man, he loved me, you heard me? But back to Magic—Magic was the realest. We went to Cali, and he had a cousin out there. We wanted some smoke, and I had a red Choppa Style shirt on. Magic kept saying, "Boy, don’t come out here with that red shirt."
Speaker 2
Oh man.
Choppa
So we end up getting some real California weed—different level, right?
David Adams
Oh yeah, big difference.
Choppa
Man, Magic was talking about how New Orleans weed was nothing compared to this Cali stuff. I was like, "Man, whatever. I smoke. I got this."
Speaker 2
Uh oh.
Choppa
So we were chilling, playing Madden, I was whipping everybody—Silk, everybody was getting work. Then all of a sudden, man, the men on the TV started looking funny.
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
I dropped my controller. Magic was like, "Shaggy, I told you not to hit that, man!" Then somebody knocked on the door, and we were spooked. It was his cousin’s wife saying, "Come get him—he’s tripping in the hallway!"
Speaker 2
Oh no!
Choppa
Man, his cousin was in the hallway talking about, "My intestines are coming out!" I was like, "Oh hell no!"
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
Man, I was in the bathroom throwing water on my feet, praying, "Lord, if you get me through this, I ain’t never smoking again."
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
Man, we had so much fun, though. No Limit was something else. Rest in peace, Magic—he was the realest.
David Adams
He seemed to be the glue to a lot of what we listened to.
Choppa
Facts. He held the game together. You ever see someone pick up a snake?
Speaker 2
Wait, what?
Choppa
Man, we were in the streets one time, and I saw a snake. I picked it up like, "This is my chance to prove I’m real." Magic was dying laughing.
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
Choppa
He was like, "Man, put that snake down!"
Speaker 2
Man, you wild.
David Adams
Yeah, but every story I hear, Magic seems like he was connected to everybody—Cash Money, No Limit—he touched everything.
Choppa
His legacy is great, man. Instead of hate, people need to understand what he came from. He did what he had to do to survive. And shoutout to Mia X—she was the glue for No Limit.
Speaker 2
Oh yeah, man.
Choppa
She brought everybody together. From the beginning of No Limit, she was telling P, "Get this person, get that person."
David Adams
She was everybody’s mama.
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah.
Choppa
Man, Mia was the heart of No Limit.
Speaker 2
Facts.
David Adams
When Mia speaks, you listen. 100%.
Choppa
Yeah, man. I love Mia.
David Adams
So what’s it like trying to reinvent yourself? You’ve had a massive hit, you perform it over and over, but now you’re independent. What’s that process like?
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
It actually works. Look at LL Cool J—he just adapts with the times. Reinventing yourself isn’t what people think. It’s just continuing to do what you do, no matter who’s listening.
Speaker 2
That’s real.
David Adams
But as an artist, you have to reinvent yourself over and over.
Choppa
That’s what artists do. But Choppa? Choppa just stays Choppa. That’s why the new generation keeps sampling me.
David Adams
Yeah, but that’s more like reinvigorating, not reinventing.
Choppa
Agree to disagree!
Speaker 2
Haha!
Choppa
The people decide what it is. I could drop a brand new song, and people might be like, "Nah, we don’t like that." But if I keep doing what I love, they gravitate toward me.
Speaker 2
100%.
David Adams
But now we’re in the streaming era. What’s it like going from CD sales to chasing streams and views?
Choppa
Man, I don’t know. I never made money from CD sales—I made money from shows.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
I was booked Monday to Sunday, getting $10K–$20K a gig. That’s where the money was.
David Adams
But now, is streaming bringing in money the way CDs did?
Choppa
That’s the thing—I’m still making my show money. Streaming is mailbox money, but I still don’t fully understand the game.
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah.
Choppa
I thank God I can still tour, but the money comes differently now.
David Adams
Yeah, before it was CDs translating into shows—now it’s streams translating into ticket sales.
Choppa
Right.
David Adams
So what shows you got coming up?
Choppa
Festivals, man! If you haven’t booked me yet, book me now! Price going up!
Speaker 2
Haha!
Choppa
I got five festivals in the city, but I ain’t saying names yet—too many haters out there.
David Adams
Haha!
Choppa
And my knee surgery—man, I’ve been rocking stages with a torn ACL for four years, and y’all ain’t even know!
Speaker 2
What?!
David Adams
That’s why you pick up that leg like that!
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
David Adams
Alright, so who are Choppa Style’s GOAT rappers?
Choppa
Man, that’s hard. If we made a New Orleans Mount Rushmore, we’d need more space!
David Adams
Yeah.
Choppa
The Hot Boys, Mac—
David Adams
Shoutout to Mac!
Choppa
Yeah, man! Tim Smooth—
Speaker 2
Yeah!
Choppa
I ride with all kinds of music, bro. I could go from Hot Boys to Bon Jovi. I just love music, period.
David Adams
Yeah, that’s real.
Choppa
I ain’t making no Mount Rushmore because I don’t want 10,000 people coming at me about who I left off!
David Adams
Hahaha! Alright, let’s talk Saints. Who’s your favorite new player?
Speaker 2
Who Dat?!
David Adams
I don’t know, man. Derek Carr still gotta prove himself.
Choppa
Yeah, but I got faith!
Speaker 2
You had to shut him out.
Choppa
Man, many people do that.
David Adams
No, listen—
Choppa
I know. I talk to my son, I could talk to you, man. My favorite player—man, you know, my dude.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
I’m looking for him to score more touchdowns this season. We’re looking forward to Rasheed returning, man, with that new yellow visor thing he got now. And we got another punt returner that just came in, so man, we gonna be solid.
David Adams
And I’m glad they got Cam some help. I love Cam Jordan, man—such a great guy.
Speaker 2
Yeah, gotta go mud-run Cam!
Choppa
Yeah, man.
David Adams
So he actually lives right around the corner from my brother-in-law. We see him all the time, especially for Halloween and charity events. He’s just a great dude. But I’m glad they got some help for him with Chase across the way. The defense looked really good in preseason, but I’m still worried about that O-line.
Choppa
Man, if the O-line can stop the other team’s offense, we’ll be cool. But if I gotta pick, and I’m just being honest—don’t be mad at me—my favorite player on the Saints? Taysom Hill.
David Adams
Oh my God, you’re kidding me!
Choppa
No disrespect to nobody else, but man, when I come into the Dome, I got that Taysom jersey on!
David Adams
I mean, he does the most—
Speaker 2
Reminds me of me!
Choppa
Man, we need to put him on a song! Taysom doing bounce rap!
Speaker 2
Hahaha!
David Adams
100%, man. Shoutout to Taysom Hill. He might be the most versatile player in the league. And I love the way he plays—whether he’s got the ball or not, he goes full speed.
Speaker 2
Yeah, he doesn’t run scared.
David Adams
So, before we wrap up—I like to ask everybody this. What truly brings elation to your life? Elation is peak happiness.
Choppa
What makes me happy? First of all, waking up in the morning. Just having another day—that’s a blessing. A lot of people don’t wake up, you know? I’m still on this side of the dirt. That makes me happy.
Choppa
Second, my family. Having them around, supporting me.
Choppa
Third, my animals.
Choppa
Fourth, my fans. And I hate to put them all the way down the list, but they can’t come before my family. My family keeps me grounded enough to be able to connect with my fans the right way.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Choppa
Because sometimes, people in the street will take you places—
Speaker 2
Oh yeah.
Choppa
Physically and emotionally.
David Adams
They’ll take you somewhere.
Choppa
And the fifth thing? People like you. People who actually broadcast how we really are in life. Who show what this really means to us. That brings me love and joy.
Speaker 2
Respect.
David Adams
Man, I appreciate that. And I appreciate you coming on, giving your time, and speaking real. It’s not easy to open up about things you don’t necessarily say on records.
Choppa
Right.
David Adams
That being said, we gotta do some records soon!
Choppa
Oh yeah, come on! Just make sure y’all got the right quality sound. Nobody lazy in the studio! I might sing like T-Pain one day, rap like somebody else the next—just make sure it’s all set up when I come in.
Speaker 2
Oh, we ready to go!
David Adams
Man, we ready to go.
Choppa
I just did a song with a country artist, man.
David Adams
I like that! I love that crossover.
Speaker 2
Shoutout to that!
David Adams
Crossover music is where it’s at. That’s where you get that pop money—that next level.
Choppa
Bruno Mars, I’m coming for you!
Speaker 2
Oh yeah!
Choppa
I love y’all, man.
David Adams
That’s awesome. Tell the people where they can find you—your socials, your music, everything.
Choppa
Check me out on Instagram at @RealChoppa. Facebook—DeTurner. Yeah, two different things, but remember both.
Choppa
And if you’re interested in my dogs—listen up! My Next Era King Cane Corsos. Italian bloodlines, but raised in Louisiana!
Speaker 2
There you go!
Choppa
Come check me out!
David Adams
Awesome, man. Well, thanks for visiting today—great conversation, real talk.
David Adams
And thank you all for joining us on the podcast! We enjoy exhilarating euphoria through creation and collaboration.
Choppa
And Mama, that was just water in my cup!
Speaker 2
Oh yeah!
David Adams
Make America dance again!
Speaker 2
That was great.
